The Easiest Cleaning Hacks for Keeping Your Home Fresh

Keeping your home clean regularly is important, but it can also feel like a never-ending chore. When you’re short on time or energy, taking shortcuts or letting messes pile up is tempting. However, before hiring cleaning services, you can first use some of the best cleaning hacks, you can keep your space fresh and hygienic without too much effort.

In this post, we’ll share the easiest and laziest DIY cleaning hacks for getting your home clean. From quick kitchen fixes to speed-cleaning the bathroom, these tips will help you tidy up fast. They use common household items like baking soda, vinegar, lemon, and essential oils to dissolve dirt, absorb odors, and make surfaces shine.

Many of these hacks take just a few minutes but keep rooms cleaner longer than usual cleaning. So you may be able to reduce how often you need deep cleaning. Making cleaning less of a chore means you’ll stay on top of it regularly. A housekeeping service could also help with deeper cleans so you just need to do touch-ups.

Ready to make cleaning virtually effortless? Read on for over a dozen brilliant hacks.

Kitchen Cleaning Hacks

Keep your kitchen fresh with these quick tricks for handling common problem areas.

Easy DIY Toilet Cleaner

Over time, toilet bowls accumulate stains and grime. Commercial cleaners help, but they are full of harsh chemicals. For an eco-friendly, natural cleaner that cleans and deodorizes, make this simple DIY toilet bowl cleaner:

1. Add 1/2 cup baking soda to the toilet bowl.
2. Spray liberally with either white vinegar or lemon juice.
3. Let foam scrub the bowl for 5-10 minutes.
4. Scrub with a toilet brush and flush to rinse clean.

According to Good Housekeeping, baking soda’s alkaline properties allow it to dissolve grease and neutralize odors when mixed with water or vinegar.

Freshen Sinks and Drains

Slow drains and funky odors from the sink or tub can make cleaning the bathroom a real chore. Skip the drain snakes and dangerous chemical drain cleaners. Instead, use a natural homemade drain cleaner once a week to keep drains clog-free and fresh-smelling:

1. Remove standing water from the tub or sink.
2. Pour 1/2 cup baking soda down the drain.
3. Add 1/2 cup vinegar and cover the drain tightly for 1 minute as it bubbles and fizzes.
4. Rinse with hot water to wash residue away.

The chemical reaction dissolves gunk, cleans pipes, and neutralizes odors for fresh, flowing drains.

Cutting Board Disinfectant

Kitchen cutting boards harbor lots of germs from raw meat and poultry. Kill bacteria without heavy-duty cleaners by:

1. Sprinkle the board liberally with coarse salt after each use.
2. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the salt.
3. Let sit 10 minutes then scrape residue into the trash with a spatula.

The salt scrubs while the acid in the lemon kills germs for a sanitized surface. Rinse and wipe clean before the next use.

Deodorize the Garbage Disposal

Stinky garbage disposal odors can make the whole kitchen smell bad. You don’t need risky chemical cleaners to tackle them. Disinfect and deodorize with things you already have:

1. Freeze vinegar in ice cube trays.
2. Turn on the disposal and drop 3-4 frozen vinegar cubes down the running blades.
3. Flush with cold water for 30 seconds after cubes clear the blades.

The frozen vinegar sterilizes the inside and leaves a clean, fresh scent.

Clean Cloudy Drinking Glasses

Do your drinking glasses look dull and hazy? Don’t buy new ones yet. Bring back the shine with this easy trick:

1. Add 2 cups of white vinegar to the bottom rack of your dishwasher.
2. Place cloudy glasses on the top rack.
3. Run a full wash cycle with the hottest water setting (no soap).
4. Air dry as normal.

The hot vinegar steam dissolves the build-up that makes glasses look cloudy. Plus, it helps clean the dishwasher.

Throughout the House

Use these clever shortcuts to freshen the floors, bathroom, bedrooms, and rest of the house.

Sweep Away Pet Hair

Constant shedding can make pet hair hard to handle between vacuums. To easily clean it up:

1. Slip a rubber glove over your hand, fingers pointing down.
2. Dampen with water and run over carpets and fabrics to make fur cling to the rubber.

The water makes hair stick while the glove’s texture grabs it right off the floor.

Dust Ceiling Fan Blades

Tall ceiling fans are a pain to clean. But dusty blades circulate dirty air. Make them easier to dust:

1. Slide an old pillowcase or sock over each blade.
2. Grip the fabric and wipe the blade clean as you slowly spin it.

The fabric slides smoothly along the blade surface, grabbing all the dust so none flies into the air.

Freshen Musty Blinds

Dust is annoying enough, but dirty blinds also absorb cooking odors and smoke that make rooms smell musty. Bring back freshness with dryer sheets:

1. Take 2-3 lightly used dryer sheets and a microfiber cloth.
2. Run sheets over each blind to sandwich in the fabric softener.
3. Use the cloth to polish the blades clean as you go.

The lightweight cloth doesn’t bend blades while the fresh dryer scent eliminates musty odors.

Restore Dingy Grout

Grout stains easily, making floors look dirtier than they are. Heavy-duty cleaners with bleach can help but are overkill for minor stains. For simple cleaning:

1. Apply baking soda along discolored grout lines.
2. Spritz with either vinegar or hydrogen peroxide (not both!).
3. Let bubble for 2-3 minutes.
4. Wipe clean.

The bubbles lift stains without harsh chemicals.

Deodorize the Garbage Can

No matter how often you empty it, residue in wastebaskets leaves garbage cans stinky. Here’s one of the best house cleaning tips to banish odors with this air freshener “cake”:

1. Mix 1 cup baking soda with 10 drops of essential oil (lemon, peppermint, lavender, etc).
2. Pack tightly into a small foil pan or muffin cup.
3. Place in the bottom of the garbage can overnight to absorb smells.

Replace once a month or whenever you notice odors.

Throughout the House (Cont’d)

Clean Sticky Wood Furniture

Wood tables and cabinets get sticky and tacky from common household substances like soda, oil, tape adhesive, etc. Avoid damage by:

1. Rubbing a pea-size dot of peanut butter into the tacky spot with a soft cloth.
2. Let set 2-3 minutes to dissolve the residue.
3. Wipe clean and polish with wood oil or conditioner.

The oils in the peanut butter lift the sticky gunk without damaging the wood.

Make Appliances Sparkle

Small kitchen appliances like blenders and mixers get spotty from cooking spatters. Make them shine like new with shaving cream:

1. Spray a dab of shaving cream onto dirty stainless steel, chrome, or plastic surfaces.
2. Using a damp microfiber cloth, gently wipe clean.
3. Buff dry with a soft towel.

The shaving cream is a mild abrasive that lifts grease and dirt without scratching.

Freshen Smelly Shoes

Stinky sneakers and boots carry odors that seem impossible to eliminate. To attack them:

1. Remove shoelaces and removable inserts.
2. Fill a large zip-top plastic bag about 1/4 full with baking soda.
3. Place each smelly shoe in the bag and seal it tightly.
4. Let sit overnight so baking soda absorbs odors.
5. In the morning, dump out baking soda, rinse shoes, and air dry.

Baking soda safely neutralizes even the strongest of stinky shoe smells.

More Brilliant Cleaning Hacks

Here are even more clever cleaning shortcuts for keeping your whole home sparkling with very little effort.

Remove Carpet Stains with Shaving Cream

Accidental spills on wall-to-wall carpeting often leave behind ugly, stubborn stains. Before you rent a rug cleaner, try this super easy fix:

1. Apply a dollop of ordinary shaving cream onto the stain.
2. Gently work it into the carpet fibers with a soft-bristle cleaning brush.
3. Let sit for 10 minutes so the cream can lift the stain.
4. Blot the area dry by pressing firmly with paper towels or clean rags.

The creamy lather helps dissolve all kinds of common food and beverage stains without harsh chemicals or hassles.

Make Windows and Mirrors Sparkle

Over time, windows and mirrors get a build-up of dirt, grease, and grime that makes them appear cloudy or streaky. For crystal clear shine use something you already have:

1. Mix equal parts white vinegar and rubbing alcohol together in a clean spray bottle. Shake well.
2. Mist the homemade cleaner evenly across the glass surface.
3. Wipe clean using newspaper or coffee filters instead of paper towels. The newspaper fibers leave a perfectly clean, lint-free finish.

Based on research from Consumer Reports, the acetic acid in distilled white vinegar enables it to dissolve mineral deposits and kill mold and bacteria as a natural cleaner.

This simple cleaner costs just pennies but cuts through dirt and residue better than pricey commercial brands.

Freshen Mattresses Between Cleanings

It’s smart to shampoo mattresses a few times a year to kill dust mites and germs. But you can make them smell cleaner between deep house cleanings too. Just:

1. Sprinkle baking soda liberally across the entire mattress surface.
2. Leave for at least one hour or overnight if possible. The longer the baking soda sits, the more odor it will absorb.
3. Vacuum up the baking soda to freshen things up.

Baking soda soaks up perspiration, body oils, and other sour smells from sleeping surfaces. It leaves mattresses cleaner and lets you sleep better without intensive scrubbing.

Clean Makeup Brushes Like New

Over time, makeup brushes collect dirt, oil, and bacteria that can cause breakouts or eye infections. Deep clean them using an unexpected pantry staple:

1. Pour 1 cup of lemon-scented dish soap into a wide bowl.
2. Stir in 1 cup olive oil until well blended.
3. Swirl brush bristles in the mixture, massaging gently to work the solution deep into the bristles. Rinse under running water until all residue rinses are clean.
4. Allow brushes to air dry with bristles facing down before the next use.

The dish soap cuts through makeup, skin oils, and dirt. Conditioning olive oil then replenishes the natural brush fibers leaving them supple.

Dust Electronics Safely

TV screens, computers, keyboards, and other devices collect dust which can damage them or lead to overheating. But cleaners can harm delicate electronics. Safely remove dust build-up with this unusual hack:

1. Put a dryer sheet over the soft brush attachment hose on your vacuum cleaner.
2. Secure it with a rubber band or tape.
3. Run the covered hose brush over vents, ports, and crevices to vacuum up dust.

The dryer sheet creates just enough static charge to grab dust without scratching. Way better than using heavy books or risky liquids near electronics!